Friday, January 14, 2011

God is taking you on a unplanned (by you) or unwanted journey. You have had your wrestling match and thankfully, He won. Trusting in God is allowing you to move forward. But this doesn’t negate how you feel during the process. Yes you are moving forward but it may be kicking and screaming on the inside.

This was a personal discovery for me. We are selling our house to downsize. This was not the long range plan however we both agreed it was the right thing to do. I keep my chin up, wear my big girl panties, and act reasonable about it. I didn’t realize how it was eating me up until I shared a disturbing dream I had with my kids. In this dream, I was part of a Jewish family living in Germany during WWII. The Nazis forced us from our home and sent us to a concentration camp. My kids both looked at me and realized why I dreamed this before I could utter another word! I was internalizing my grief over selling my home!

It doesn’t matter what kind of change you experience, it is important to grieve the loss. It could be a home, a job, a loved one, or an old way of life that was very comfortable. It is healthy to let those tears flow, God gave you this. Go ahead and grieve, it won’t last forever. For He is waiting at the end of this change with great plans for you!

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10

Monday, January 3, 2011

I want to emphasize that the reason I call this blog site Real Faith in Real Life is because we can “know” all the truths in God’s Word, recite scripture from heart, and sing praises to Him with our voices. But until we experience Him through life and it’s complexities, our “knowing” is strictly superficial.

The greatest way to experience Christ is when your life plans and His life plans for you aren’t the same. Sadly it’s not the way we want to grow in our faith-walk but this is when the rubber meets the road.

Scripture tells us to share with our Heavenly Father the desires of our heart. Pour your desires for you, your family, your life plans out to God, but remember, to end that prayer with the prayer that never fails “Not mine but your will be done”. I have found that the desires of my heart will eventually change to meet His desires for me when I trust that which I cannot see. That’s faith.

When I was a little girl, I remember our Preacher saying God’s light for us is sometimes like the headlights on our car. On a dark night, it may show you just enough view to drive a few yards. You keep going the direction the light tells you to. On our faith journey, we may not have all the answers to what is going to happen down the road, but I believe He gives us just enough Light to take the next step, faith for the next step, trust for the next.

Will you start this year off by taking a step of faith? Trust when you are too scared to move, and have faith when you just can’t see.

My favorite day of the week is my Bible study class day, teaching the Word and encouraging women of faith.
I direct the women's ministry for Wildwood UMC.
My love is journaling how the Lord is working in the ins and outs of everyday life. I have been privileged to have some of those journal entries published!
My favorite restaurant is my kitchen, eating at my table with everybody home!